Maxed Out

A heroic effort from the West Side

Democracies are delicate things. A painful look on either side of the 49
th
should give ample illustration to that point.

But corruption and scandal aside, the biggest threats to viable democracy are apathy and acquiescence, to which I shall add a third a, acclamation.

With Whistler gearing up to go to the polls this November  yeah, I know; no sign of Whistler gearing up for anything except summer but trust me on this, its happening  two things are relatively certain: a whole bunch of people youve probably never heard of
will
run for council and thus far, nobodys lining up to run for mayor.

Thats a scandal. Well, maybe scandal is too harsh a word. Even with all the Olympic™ money filtering through town its not as though any hanky-panky is going on. I mean, Olympics™? Scandal? How likely is that?

And this isnt to say I have any personal animus against Hizzonhor, the sitting mayor for life. His Hughness is a fine mayor; no scandal there. No cigar games with comely aides, no money laundering through Muni Hall, no megalomaniacal visions of grandeur. Hughs a regular guy. Hes one of us. Former patroller, small business owner, Joe six-pack made good. Probably the worst thing that can be said against the Hughster is he has trouble putting his vision of Whistler into words, occasionally leaving one with the erroneous impression he has none other than being the unnamed home of the 2010 Olympics™.

But it would be an affront to democracy to let him stand unchallenged for yet another term in the mayors chair. That is why, today, using this forum entrusted to me by my very supportive publisher and editor, Id like to formally launch what I consider a formidable challenge to our seemingly unbeatable mayor.

No, its not me, you ninny. Relax. You have to be a Canadian citizen to even vote in this backwater, let alone run for public office. Maybe next time.

Im here today to formally launch the Galt for Mayor campaign.

Running under the newly-formed Never Ending Party (NEP), Im proud to throw a real Whistler hero to the lions, Dave Galt.

Why Dave? Why now? Well, as Dave says, "Hell, I could use a good paying job that leaves me plenty of time for golf too."

According to campaign manager, Bob Penner  Whistlers, and one of Canadas, foremost authority on crop and ice circles  "Daves a real hero. Dave saved West Side Road from going up in flames the other day when the Burgess garage caught fire. Hugh (Mayor Hugh OReilly) may be a preventive kind of guy, being a chimney sweep and all, but Dave really knows what to do when he sees a fire. He acts!"